Common Room

Opening Reception

August 10th

Gallery Hours

August 10th, 17th, 24th, and 31st starting at 6:00PM

Exhibition Runs

Aug 10 -
Aug 31

A summer series of tours by Andy Sturdevant and Sergio Vucci, now in it’s eighth season.

Common Room began as a month-long series of interactive art events, out of a refurbished art deco office at The Soap Factory. Since 2011, Vucci and Sturdevant have taken the Common Room concept outside the four walls of The Soap Factory and into the city, activating public spaces and redefining our relationship with our surroundings.

Scroll down to take a look at this summer’s tour descriptions!

THE CAT TOUR

August 10, 6:00PM

Cats have a rich life outside the confines of YouTube, and an especially rich life outside the confines of a household. The Cat Tour trails these cuddly killers through the streets, alleys and backyards of the Twin Cities, giving a cat’s eye view of the city, with the interpretive assistance of several veterinarians, animal behavioralists, scientists and pet owners. Walking tour.

In loving memory of Bucket the cat.

THE HACK TOUR

August 17

Starting Location: The Soap Factory

The Hack Tour will explore those modifications and personalizations we bring to our surrounding structures to “help” them better server our needs. We’ll hear from guest presenters on public data sourcing, public space hacking, materials hacks, and even how to hack your own mind. Bicycle Tour, because bikes. There is a Nice Ride station located at The Soap Factory if needed.

THE LEGAL TOUR

August 24

Starting Location: Aurora Ave., at the steps of the Minnesota State Capitol, St. Paul

Any time we’re in a public space, there is an invisible (and sometimes highly visible) framework of laws dictating what we can and can’t do. Loitering laws, noise ordnances, assembly permits, building heights, pedestrian and public safety laws — all of these, and many more, affect how we experience public spaces. Join us and a few attorneys working in a number of fields to explore how the law overlaps with the physical environment. Walking tour.

THE KITCHEN TOUR

August 31

Outside Nicollet Ace Hardware, 3805 Nicollet Ave S., Minneapolis

Kitchens link our domestic and public lives in a way few other spaces do, whether we’re cooking for our family or friends, or visiting a restaurant with them. Once relegated to hidden rooms in the back of houses and restaurants, kitchens often now feature centrally in these places. The Kitchen Tour peers into private, commercial, community and historic kitchens, all within a few blocks of one another in south Minneapolis. Walking tour.